Donovan rejected by USA team

A gasp was heard around the world by soccer fans when news spread that Landon Donovan was cut from the U.S. Nationals team for the 2014 World Cup. The FIFA 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil starting June 12 and ending July 13. The soccer tournament’s 16 teams will be divided into eight groups and will play other teams from around the world. The United States is in Group G along with Portugal, Germany and Ghana. The U.S. National Team Coach, Ju- rgen Klinsminn, decided to leave former captain, Landon Donovan off the 23-man roster. Klinsmann justified his decision on May 23 when discussing Donovan during a press conference saying, “The other strik- ers we see that inch ahead of him, we feel those guys are a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas. That’s why we made that decision.” “I’m disappointed. I’m sad,” Donovan told reporters on Saturday. “I’m human, and I wanted to go. I re- ally wanted to go. I’m at peace with it. I respect the decision. I just feel in my heart that I deserve to be there, and that’s the pill that’s hardest to swallow.” Donovan plays in the Major League Soccer (MLS) for the Los Angeles Galaxy team and is the league’s all-time top goal- scorer with 136 goals. Donovan has also won five MLS Cups. Donovan is the all-time leader in scor- ing and assists for the United States men’s national team. Donovan holds the record as the only American player to reach the 50 goals/50 assists mark. Donovan’s storied career has also earned him U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award four times, the only athlete to do so. Donovan is also the only athlete to be named a seven-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award. The U.S. team that reached the quar- ter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, starred Donovan, where he received the Best Young Player Award. Donovan was instrumental in the 2010 FIFA World Cup where he scored three goals. He is the highest scoring American player in World Cup history and the third American player to score in more than one World Cup (after Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey). Donovan returned to the Galaxy after Klinsmann’s announcement and played on May 25. He has yet to score in the Galaxy’s first seven games in 2014. His lack of scoring is thought to have played a part in Klinsmann’s decision to leave him off the U.S. National Team roster. Donovan answered his critics when he set-up teammate Leonardo, with a long free kick that Leonardo headed in for the first goal of the game. Early in the second half, Donovan scored on a cross from Robbie Keane to give the Galaxy a 2-0 lead. Donovan’s goal set the record for MLS regular-season goals. Donovan increased his record by scor- ing another goal bringing the Galaxy up 4-0. The Galaxy finished the game by giv- ing up one goal to the Union. Final score 4-1. In his post-game press conference Donovan said, “It’s been a long week. It’s hard not to make it about me, and I don’t necessarily want it to be that way, but you know that I’ve sacrificed a lot to be in the position that I’m in. I was very happy for myself, I’ve dedicated a lot to this, and I thought I deserved what happened today.”